Springfield Journal Register, date of paper which originally published the following is unknown.

"FOR YOUR COLLECTION: STATE CAPITOL LITHOGRAPH OF 1885--
The massive dignity and inherent majesty of Illinois' chief public building -- the
Capitol at Springfield -- is well reflected in this lithograph of 1885, appearing in one
of those attractive little "Springfield and Lincoln Souvenirs" which thousands of
visitors of that era took home with them after touring our fair city. . . . A new light has
been cast upon the removal of the "grand steps" at the main entrance by Mr. German,
well-known retired printer, who tells us that when the Democrats came in, Gov. Altgeld's
State House Commission decided that the steps blocked the view out from the building as ne
departments were assigned quarters in the original basement, now the first floor. . . . Although
this is a lithograph, it gives a remarkably clear view of the Capitol in the middle Eighties.